deadlift

So assuming one had an extra set of identical speakers cables and wanted to try bi-wiring just for the heck of it - it may not make any difference, but one would be doing no harm?

Exactly what I had in mind!!! Can't hurt and who knows may all of sudden have an epiphany with greater dynamics, better imaging and a bigger sound stage.

So assuming one does not bi-wire and leaves the jumpers, it really does not matter which posts you use as long as you do not do something silly like connect your leads to both positive or negative posts. But then again if you are one to use expensive speaker cables and say hook the cable up to the HF side - you are now depending on the jumpers to transfer the signal to the LF side and to me the stock jumpers look like zip wire terminated with spades, so potentially undoing your expensive speaker cable ? Thanks again

That was one of the articles I looked at, while being clear and well written I'm still thinking as you mentioned a "placebo effect" .

No just talking about bi-wiring at the moment.

I recently got a set of speaker cables to try out with my La Scala II's only to find out that the spades were too thick to fit along with the jumpers. This lead me to thinking about bi-wiring but I just can't wrap my head around the concept. How is bi-wiring any different then one set of cables with jumpers instead of two sets of identical cables? I guess one could say that a speaker cable will sound better than the standard jumpers found on my speakers. Has anyone bi-wired and noticed a huge difference in sound ? Thanks

I own a pair of these and love them, but moving time is coming. I remember what a pain it was assembling the top and bottom took 3 people 2 holding the top at an angle and the third reaching in to tighten the connections. I can assume they did this to make them easier to manage at about 180lbs each. I was thinking about wrapping them in bubble wrap and then using tie straps to secure the top and bottom for the move rather than disassembling them. It's going to be about an hour and 10 minute drive and I will be handling the move. Does anyone have any thoughts and experience about this ? Thanks

Perhaps it's best if we all do what we love, I'm going to put Diana Krall Live in Paris on the turntable and sit back and enjoy, nothing like a live performance coming through the La Scala II's. Peace

erik2A3 Very well said - Thank you !!!!

As an aside I would just like to add that friends, family and myself who listen to my system find the sound thoroughly enjoyable regardless of which set of poorly engineered amps I may have hooked up at the moment. In the end - it's the music that matters and if it floats your boat - then all is well.

I think that 6v number was for the Quicksilver not the Manley if i'm not mistaken.

I could not agree more in regards to the Quicksilver's and for the price one is getting a very big bang for the buck.

Hi alzinski, I was not offended in the least (just hope Eveanna Manley does not read these posts would not want to mess with her!!!) in fact I enjoy picking at your in depth knowledge of the topics at hand. Yes it is passive and up o this point I have not noticed any distortion but I will at some point listen with and without the attenuator and assess whether dealing with the noise or using the attenuator is the better sound. Thanks

Perhaps a bit gimmicky but Sam liked their sound http://www.stereophile.com/content/manley-labs-sepp-300b-monoblock-power-amplifier#yA3PI8DKY86Iwxfm.97 As do I. As for the original noise issue I have solved that by placing a Goldpoint Attenuator in the path and now I have to press my ear up to the speaker to hear the slightest of noise which I can live with.

hi alzinski, here's a link to the specs etc of the Manley amps if you would care to look over.... http://www.manley.com/products/view/nsepp Thanks

Hi richieb The Manley preamp was dead quiet when hooked up to the Qucikailvers only when switching over to the Manley amps did the noise begin, this has since been corrected with an attenuator.

hello aalzinski, The quicksilver was specifically built and designed for very efficient speakers from the web page: " It has extremely low noise and distortion and approximately 18 db less gain than Quicksilver's standard amplifiers. This avoids the noise and gain problems that normally appear when using horn speakers. The amplifier is designed to sound good at the extremely low levels (milliwatts) that horn loudspeakers require. Many amplifiers actually have higher distortion at these low levels. " comparing the input sensitivity: Quicksilver: Input Sensitivity 6 volts Manley: Input Sensitivity with 5db FB SINGLE ENDED: 700mV for Maximum Power Input Sensitivity with 5db FB PUSH-PULL: 450mV for Maximum Power Input Sensitivity with 5db FB SINGLE ENDED: 165mV for 1V output into 8 Ohms Input Sensitivity with 5db FB PUSH-PULL: 160mV for 1V output into 8 Ohms

As for tubes sounding better or different after 100+ hours I'm still on the fence although I know many who firmly believe that is the case. I do know that with my current setup (Manley Neo-Classic 300B and Manley 300B SE/PP's) the first 30 minutes are less than stellar but after that everything starts to shine. That's why I usually start off with a CD and do other things, once the CD is finished then I settle down into the sweet spot and spin some vinyl.

I frequently hear one had to give a tubes a certain period of break in time a range of hours. So I was wondering does anyone out there have a good method of tracking the actual number of hours that a tube has been in use ? Thanks

Having 4 cats have to keep an eye on my tube amps so I am diligent about shutting down when done. Imagine the time I went to power up my power amps to notice that 1 12ax7 was missing - found it upstairs under bed one of my cats pulled it out of the socket and carried it upstairs. It was undamaged have to love cats.

Sure there you can see the 300 SE/PP glowing away.... Despite the initial noise issues these things sound really sweet with the la scala's incredible sound stage.

Just a follow up Miken was right on with this issue - I compared the specs for the Manley amp and the Quciksilver and the one spec that jumped out at me was the input sensitivity the Manley is with 5DB FB Push Pull 160mV for 1V output into 8 ohms the Quciksilver on the other hand is 6 volts and as described " The Horn Mono Amplifier is designed specifically for use with very efficient loudspeakers. It has extremely low noise and distortion and approximately 18 db less gain than Quicksilver's standard amplifiers. This avoids the noise and gain problems that normally appear when using horn speakers. : So no wonder all is quiet with the Quciksilvers, however I have found as Miken suggested that the attenuators have taken care of the excessive noise with the Manley amps. Live and learn as they say. Thanks

Hello Miken, First thank you for taking the time to reply, much appreciated . Please forgive my brain fart in regards to attenuators I actually own a few pairs of Harrison's 12db which i had been using when I was experimenting with the Rogue Audio M180 mono blocks. As to your questions 1. Yes the hiss does get more pronounced with the volume cranked up 2. I would say the noise is noticeable at least to me from 15 to 16 feet away from the speakers. 3. Although not as ridiculous as with the Rogue Audios I did fee that the volume was getting too loud too sound which surprised me a bit with what 11 watts in SE mode. So I added the 12db Harrison's into the mix and ... I now had to be within a foot maybe a foot and 1/2 in order to hear any noise. I will actually listen to some music on Monday and let you know how it goes. Thanks

dluoC Hi Miken Could you elaborate more about this? I find this very interesting and would love to give it a try. Thanks Tom

I will try that but having the Manley neo-classic preamp I thought these guys would play nice together. The Manley preamp seems to love the Quicksilvers zero noise with those amps.